Wimbledon 2026 pages
Sports · Wimbledon 2026 · Men's Singles · Round of 128
Andrey Rublev vs Roman Safiullin — 6-4 6-7(6) 3-6 6-3 7-6(12)
| Roman Safiullin✓ | 6 | 66 | 3 | 6 | 7 |
| Andrey Rublev | 4 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 612 |
Final · Monday, June 29, 2026 · Round of 128
Result
Qualifier Roman Safiullin stunned No. 12 seed and fellow Russian Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-7(6) 3-6 6-3 7-6(12) on Court 16, saving two match points before taking the deciding tiebreak 14-12 in a match just under four hours long. Rublev out-served his countryman with 22 aces to 11, but a wobbly return day and eight double faults undercut him, and Safiullin won 176 points to 164 across the marathon. It was the first tour-level meeting between the two Russians.
Stats: Official wimbledon.com match statistics (IBM) · as of 2026-07-09
Rows the source hadn’t published are left off rather than guessed.
At this Stage
Two Russians who had somehow never met at tour level produced the longest goodbye imaginable: just under four hours, a deciding tiebreak stretched to 14-12, and two match points saved by the qualifier before the 12th seed went out. Safiullin, ranked outside the top 125 but a Wimbledon quarter-finalist on debut in 2023, knows what these lawns can do for him; Rublev, shaky since an early Halle exit, out-aced him 22 to 11 and still could not land the final blow. The last 64 brought Botic van de Zandschulp — and, fittingly, another five-setter settled in a final-set tiebreak, Safiullin through again.
What we know now
Court: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London
Match length: 3:58
Tale of the tape
Player vitals: ATP Tour player profiles and Wikipedia (career records) · as of 2026-07-09.
The briefing
Storylines
- Safiullin, ranked outside the top 125 and through qualifying, had reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals as a debutant in 2023.
- Rublev arrived as the No. 12 seed but with shaky grass form after an early exit in Halle.
- Safiullin saved two match points and edged the fifth-set tiebreak 14-12 to complete the upset.
Head to head
Their first career meeting on tour — the two Russians had never faced each other.
Source: ATP head-to-head · as of 2026-06-29.
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London — grass.